1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a short-wavelength optoelectronic device having the combination of a field emission device and an optical device, and its fabricating method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Short-wavelength lasers are used in a variety of applications such as optical recording medium for display with enhanced record density, medical appliances, and measuring instruments. In particular, a use of short-wavelength laser makes it possible to enhance the optical record density several scores of times as high as the current density of several giga bytes such that the capacity of data communication device such as multimedia information server can be greatly increased. However, ultraviolet lasers employing He--Cd gas plasma or frequency modulation method are inapplicable to the microelectronics because they are extremely large in volume and very expensive.
On the contrary, many studies and developments have been vigorously made on the WBG (Wirde Band Gap) compound semiconductors such as SiC, AlN, GaN, ZnSe and the like for a purpose of applications in recent years. 400-500 nm blue LEDs (Light-Emitting Devices) have been put into practice use since 1994, and a recent report discloses a laser diode which operates for more than 1000 hours.
However, it is still difficult to fabricate an optoelectronic device using a semiconductor which operates in a short-wavelength band below 400 nm, and notably, there has never been reported on an ultraviolet laser diode formed from a semiconductor.
Especially, semiconductor optoelectronic device that operates in a short-wavelength band cannot be realized with some reasons, the fundamental reason of which resides in that electric resistance and ohmic junction resistance are extremely large to inject carriers, that is, mobile electrons or holes.